Vehicle article carriers are used in a wide variety of applications with various types of motor vehicles. Typically a vehicle article carrier will be disposed on the roof portion of a vehicle, or possibly in the bed of a pickup truck. In many instances the typical vehicle article carrier will include a pair of crossbars that are each supported at their opposite ends from a corresponding support track or support rail. The support rail is typically fixedly secured to an outer body surface of the vehicle. In many instances one or both of the crossbars may be adjustable; that is, one or both of the crossbars may be moveable along the support rails and locked at a desired position to enhance the utility of the crossbars in supporting various sizes and shapes of articles being carried on the crossbars.
When repositioning either of the crossbars, typically the user must release some form of locking or latching arrangement at each end of the crossbar. This necessitates that the user first perform an unlocking (or unlatching) operation at one side of the vehicle, then walk to the other side of the vehicle and perform the same operation. The crossbar may then be moved along the support rails to the desired position. The user then locks (or latches) one end of the cross bar to its associated support rail and then walks around to the other side of the vehicle to perform the same action at the opposite end of the crossbar. Accordingly, the simple act of repositioning a crossbar can be somewhat cumbersome for the user. If the user uses his/her vehicle article carrier system frequently to transport articles of widely varying sizes and shapes, then the above-described unlocking and locking action must be performed each time the crossbar is repositioned.